Lil Wayne says Drake is “hated on” because he’s “light-skinned”

Lil Wayne has said he believes Drake is “hated on” the hip-hop community because he is “light-skinned.”

• READ MORE: Drake – ‘For All The Dogs’ review: banger-less, bitter and deeply mid

The Louisiana-born rapper appeared on The Richard Sherman Podcast last week. Sherman praised Wayne’s talent-scouting skills, to which the latter credited his mentor and Cash Money Records co-founder Birdman for showing him how to pick great artists.

This led the American footballer to ask about Drake – his protégé and one of the first signees on the Young Money/Cash Money label imprint – and why he receives so much criticism in the rap community.

“He red,” Wayne replied, “he light-skinned. “That’s just American history. How I know is, because I’m not light-skinned. I hated on all [the] light-skinned dudes in school. So yeah, it’s American history, man.”

The comment comes weeks after hip-hop legend Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) stated that Drake is not in hip-hop but a “pop” star whose music is “compatible with shopping.” The Canadian rapper has since replied by sharing a video of Method Man describing what hip-hop is. Dexerto reported that Drake hasn’t forgiven Bey’s comments and called him a “crackhead” under an Instagram post.

Joe Budden has been open about his disdain for Drake’s music. Last October, the latter dropped his eighth studio album, ‘For All The Dogs’, before the ‘Pump It Up’ rapper said the album sounded like he was “rapping for the kids, the streams, the accolades ” and not “adult people.”

• READ MORE: Sorry Drake, you’re not cool any more – and here’s why

This caused Drake to take a shot back at Budden. In a long rant, he said: “You have failed at music… For any artist watching this just remember you are watching a failure give their opinion on his idea of a recipe for success…a quitter give their opinion on how to achieve longevity.”

In other news, Drake and J. Cole will embark on the ‘It’s All A Blur – Big As What?’ tour this spring. The North American excursion will serve as the sequel to Drake’s original ‘It’s All A Blur’ tour with ‘Her Loss’ collaborator 21 Savage last summer, which became the highest-grossing rap tour of all time.